San Diego hosted Wall Street when 300 high-tech high fliers presented their financial outlook to more than 1,000 financial analysts and venture capitalists at the American Electronics Association's 29th annual financial conference last month. The program was so popular that host hotel sheraton-Westin Harbor Island was filled to capacity and San Diego was selected as the annual event's location for the next three years. Several attendees reportedly found San Diego so attractive that they are relocating here.

    Local companies also made a good impression on the visitors. Qualcomm COO Richard Sulpizio explained how Qualcomm's proprietary CDMA standard is rapidly gaining worldwide market share. Remec and Cymer Inc. also reported healthy international expansion, thanks to a rebound in Asian markets.

    San Diego-based Internet companies bolstered the city's image as a high-technology center. Intervu CFO Kenneth Ruggiero explained how video could grow to more than half the content transmitted on the Web and how the firm's Internet video software was positioned to capture a good share of that growth. Commercial real estate information service Comps.com announced plans to merge with Costar and become America's leading provider of online real estate data. Vista Information Solutions also is benefiting from the Internet's growth, using the technology to distribute residential real estate information nationwide and create a portal for relocation services.

— Max Donner